Music Week Presents: Soulitaire

Following the release of ambitious singles, ‘New Breed’, and ‘One Of Many Parts’, the next unveiling for Austrian singer-songwriter Soulitaire will be the release of the much anticipated album I Believe In Rainbowsdropping on November 10th via Violet Noise Records. Initial single ‘New Breed’has received support from fashion and music UK publication Noctis Mag and tastemaker UK presenters Tom Robinson/ BBC Music 6 and Charlie Ashcroft/ Amazing Radio whilst his latest single ‘One Of Many Parts’was premiered by CLASH Mag. Both singles delivered Soulitaire’s velvet-esque voice alongside his jazzy guitar sound and the optimism and enthusiasm for which the artist is quickly becoming renowned for.

The Austrian singer-songwriter has taken the lead from native established and up and coming artists such as Falco, SOHN, LEYYA, HUNGER and many others. The current in vogue music scene and prominent festivals in the country have not only inspired Martin Rotheneder to start from scratch with Soulitaire at age of 36, after years of work with past projects, but also boosted his own confidence to develop his unique sound, guitar playing technique and songwriting.

Martin had an early introduction to music, and picked up both guitar and percussion at age 6, playing along to afro-funk and fingerstyle guitar records. The films ‘The Blues Brothers’ and ‘Woodstock’ inspired his change to electric guitar in the early 90s. Rotheneder was pulled towards jazz training in guitar and attended Gustav Mahler Konservatorium in Vienna, but it wasn’t until 2003 that he found his place in singing and songwriting, signing to Wohnzimmer Records with his first solo-project Ben Martin, and subsequently released nine albums with three different bands in ten years, resigning in early 2014. However, in 2015, he found an old crappy guitar with only four strings left sitting in the corner of a room. Minutes later a song was written and recorded on his phone with the whole idea for Soulitaire laid out in his mind: vocals and guitar, nothing else needed.

With influences as diverse as Joni Mitchell, Keziah Jones, Pat Metheny and Miles Davis - Soulitaire manages to tug on your heartstrings with his percussive guitar technique, releasing a softness in the strumming and a natural loop of hand beats - bass vibrating off his instrument. His sound is reminiscent of Newton Faulkner or Ben Howard and breathes off a well balanced weight between the classic and the contemporary, evoking a charm in the relationship between the vocals and harmony.

Soulitaire’s upcoming full-length album I Believe In Rainbowsis a wondrous 12-track excursion into the mind of singer-songwriter Martin Rotheneder, exploring the depths of his innermost desires and experiences, and reflecting them back with even more sentiment and emotion than initially calculated. Soulitaire’s silken vocal performance is projected onto heartfelt guitar playing and hand techniques, set awash against minimalist tones and atmospheres in a sea of sincerity.

On the upcoming LP, Soulitaire comments: "I scaled everything down to acoustic guitar, a distortion pedal, a guitar amp and vocals as my main instruments. Minimalism with the vision of sounding like a band. And some self-imposed rules: No electronics, no loops, all has to be played live on guitar, all in one take."

We are able to bring you the first stream of the album, which can be pre-ordered here.